


Mercury

by MidnightTaff



Series: Origins [2]
Category: Original Work, X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Bonding, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Experimentation, Family, Gen, Love, Mutant, Origin Story, Origins, Orphan - Freeform, Orphanage, Parent-Child Relationship, Possibly more to be added - Freeform, Racism, Torture (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:32:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6366964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightTaff/pseuds/MidnightTaff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'She tried her very best to move, get away, do something, anything! She was so sure that it was them, finally come to finish her off, finish what they had started, before whatever had overpowered them could get to her too.</p><p>Much to her surprise, she was wrong.'</p><p>(Big thanks to Redonkgirl who gave me a ton of help with coming up with this character and her backstory, this story wouldn't be possible without her! Please go check out her stuff, she's a great author!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1988

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that this is part of a series. If you haven't read part one, Ghost, yet, then don't worry, you don't have to. They don't really connect, but if you read both then you will be able to connect some parallels between them, so I would recommend it! Or at least read the note in the beginning, where I explain the purpose of this series.
> 
> Also, brownie points from anyone who can figure out the hidden secret I've been hinting throughout this story before I reveal it ;) Although it actually isn't that hard to figure out, since I haven't really hidden it that well, if we're being honest.

The yelling only got worse, that’s all _they_ ever did. No matter what, they always seemed to be mad at her. Even if she hadn’t done anything, even if _they_ _knew_ it wasn’t her, she was always the one they blamed, so Sarah did the only thing she _could_ do.

She ran.

She’d always been very good at running, for as long as she could remember at least. It was something she had always been proud of, but _they_ didn’t agree. ‘Little freak’, that was what _they_ called her, although she was sure that mutant was the more accurate term. It stung, but it wasn’t the worst thing they did. Far from it, actually.

Sarah could take the constant dyeing of her hair, she could take all the warning to slow down ‘ _or else_ ’ – a threat that she never heeded and _they_ never fulfilled. Hell, she could even take the constant racism spouted at her no matter where she went, because she didn’t like acting ‘normal’ like _them_ and didn’t want to. It just seemed so _boring_.

No, none of that bothered her. Not anymore. Having so many people spout the same abuse at you in so many different places made it easy to swallow after a while, water off a duck’s back, if you will. Eventually _they_ all blurred into a blank face spouting prejudiced lies at you. But she hated the excuse _they_ always gave her, because she _knew_ that _they_ had no proof, none what so ever, but _they_ were always _so sure_ that _they_ were right.

‘ _Nobody wants a little freak for a kid._ ’

Sarah was an orphan. From birth, she’d been told. She’d read the file; got bored one night, and breaking and entering wasn’t all that hard with super speed. Neither was stealing, but she didn’t really count it as that, considering it was technically hers anyway. It had her name on it, after all. But there on paper, in the file, in clear black and white, there was no reason, absolutely none. Her mother hadn’t given a single excuse as to why she couldn’t or didn’t want to raise her child, didn’t want Sarah. Well, none that an eight year old could quite comprehend anyway.

“ _I don’t want to raise her without her father, I can’t.”_ A direct quote, apparently. But why wasn’t her father around? Did he know about her? Did he not want her either? None of this answered Sarah’s question, it only gave her more.

But after so many empty faces yell the same blatant lies at you, at a _child_ , you start to believe it. Sarah had been switched around enough orphanages, been denied enough times by eager parent’s-to-be, to start understanding how adults thought, how prejudice worked. Soon, she realized that what _they_ said was true, _nobody wanted her_. Not because of any fault of her own, not because of anything she could control. No, because she was _a little freak_ , a mutant. But Sarah also found that she didn’t care.

They didn’t want her? Fine, she didn’t _need_ them. She didn’t _need_ anyone. She was better than them, _faster_ , and as soon as she was free from this never ending cycle she would prove it. Not just to _them_ , but the world.

Sadly, Sarah never got that chance.

* * *

 

It had begun a long time ago, although Sarah never really acknowledged it, not even the possibility. How could she? Clever as she may be, she was a _child_ , she didn’t know any better.

She was sitting in her room when it happened, if it could even be called that. _They_ called her downstairs, apparently someone was here to see her, and _they_ wanted to _take_ her. A simple word for a simple concept, for in Sarah’s eyes, that was all adoption was, being _taken_ against her will. After all, _they_ would never give her the opportunity to choose. No, _they_ would be glad to be rid of her, if anything.

Sarah had no idea how correct she was.

By now, both she and _they_ were familiar with the procedure. Sarah would run down to _them_ with her speed, having no intentions of hiding it despite _their_ constant reprimanding. Besides, it pissed _them_ off, and she enjoyed the small satisfaction it gave her. Then, she would show the amount of interest she had in being taken by _them_ , which was none, and she would soon be forgotten, if not yelled at for a little while by _them_.

However, today the tables seemed to have turned, as it was instead _them_ who bore the smug satisfaction, and Sarah who was left confused. These weren’t like any kind of parents-to-be that Sarah had seen before. _They_ were too, professional, cold, and their clothes were, _odd_ , to say the least. Her thoughts were cut off by _their_ own malicious grins.

“What-“ Was all the young girl could get out before she was shot by something strange. She couldn’t name it, but it was too big to be any kind of bullet, she knew _that_ at least. Usually she could have avoided that easily, but she had been confused, and hadn’t seen it coming. She tried to run away, she really did, but the walls seemed to be spinning, she was feeling drowsy and light headed and only got a few meters before she fell to the floor.

“ _…strong…”_

“… _mutant_ …”

“… _we’ll take her._ ”

Sarah only caught snippets of what was being said – what was being said by _them_ \- as she slipped in and out of consciousness. First she was face down on the floor, then she was being carried, then she was being strapped into an odd contraption in the back of some vehicle she couldn’t name.

And then, she was asleep. Her fluctuating consciousness something she had never realized would haunt her for many years to come.

* * *

 

It lasted two long years, that was what Sarah was told.

The first time she woke up, it was to the searing pain of something being _burnt_ into her arm. At least, that was what it felt like, it was hard to tell, she hadn’t felt anything like it before.

The second time, she was chained to a wall, too tired to move, to care. _Next time_ , she promised herself, _next time, she would escape_.

But next time never came.

After that, she awoke many a time in the cell, making the same promise to herself over and over again, but never fulfilling it. Not only did she get more and more exhausted as time went by, but she also felt more and more _pain_.

Because sometimes, she would wake up and be forced to run, for hours on end, seemingly never ending, not until she collapsed from exhaustion. Others, _they_ would test her body in different ways, make her react quickly, fight, try and lift _things_ that only got heavier and heavier. Sarah never wanted to do it, but she didn’t have much of a choice. If she didn’t _they_ used some strange contraption on her, it made her muscles feel weird, tense up, in a way. She couldn’t control them then, it was like they had frozen, and would be put back to sleep. It had quickly put her off of trying to run away, although not before she tried, several times.

The worst times to wake up were also the briefest, as they were the times she would be put back to sleep as quickly as possible. Despite _their_ best efforts to keep her in the land of unconsciousness, Sarah soon learnt the feeling of being cut open far too well. The feeling of a blade slicing into her skin, her internal organs, her muscles, even her _bones_ , it was always too much for her body to handle. She would more often than not pass out on her own before _they_ could do it themselves with _their_ strange tubes and medicine. At first, she thought they were dreams, nightmares to remind her that things could be worse. But afterwards, she could feel stitches move, feel the warm blood drip down her body and crust over, and then she was reminded that her nightmare was very much _real_.

Her animosity towards _them_ only grew with time. _They_ did this to her, were doing this to her. She wasn’t quite sure what to call _them_ yet, couldn’t think of a word to fully match their evilness, so neutral pronouns would have to do for now.

But one day, she awoke to a different scene. She was still chained in her cell, too weak to move, to open her eyes, to do anything. At first, Sarah had thought she was dying, maybe she was already dead? Her hopes were soon dashed by the sounds of screams, of _death_. The sounds weren’t from the same voices she had grown accustomed to, so it must have been coming from _them_. But how? Who could possibly overpower _them?_

Sarah’s questions were soon answered, as her cell door was opened. She tried her very best to move, get away, do something, _anything_! She was so sure that it was _them_ , finally come to finish her off, finish what _they_ had started, before whatever had overpowered _them_ could get to her too.

Much to her surprise, she was wrong, as the chains around her arms snapped off without any contact. Sarah found herself being lifted by gentle arms and held in a warm embrace. She was able to open her eyes for a moment, and catch a glimpse of a man’s face, surrounded by a strange, red helmet. The energy the simply action took caused her to fall into unconsciousness once more, but this time, she would awaken somewhere safer.

“ _Sleep, my child, you’re safe now._ They _can’t hurt you anymore._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave any constructive criticism if you have some in the comments! I love reading it and it would really help me improve my writing :)


	2. 1998

Erik Lehnsherr, that was the name of the man who had rescued her, although he preferred the name Magneto. He was a mutant, like her, and he understood her pain, her suffering. He was nice enough to her, but Sarah wasn’t stupid, she knew that he hadn’t just saved her because she was a mutant. He was building an army, the Brotherhood, and he wanted her to join. Whether she truly wanted to or not didn’t matter, because Magneto had saved her life, so she was in debt to him, and what better way to repay it then fighting for his cause?

He quickly bestowed a new name upon her. Sarah didn’t exactly want one, she was happy enough being Sarah, but Magneto told her that it wasn’t her true name, her _mutant_ name, it was the name _they_ gave her. So, he called her Mercury. She wasn’t sure why, she didn’t understand how it connected to her power, or even its significance, not yet. But it could have been worse, so she became Mercury.

But that wasn’t the only new name she was known by. Many people in the Brotherhood had begun calling her Lehnsherr rather than Orville. She wasn’t sure why, seeing as there was no relation between herself and Magneto. At least, not as far as she could tell. But she assumed that they would rather give her the name of another mutant than another name given to her by _them_ , similar to the reason they gave her the name Mercury, so she let them.

Sarah supposed that life could have been worse with Magneto, she certainly preferred it to the orphanage or the lab he had saved her from. But something had always felt, off, while she was with him, or just with the Brotherhood in general. The kind of off you feel when you think people are staring at you or whispering about you, almost as if they all know something about you that you don’t.

Said feeling quickly caused Sarah to try and find any files he might have on her, like they did back in the orphanage, like the one she remembered taking before. But she had misjudged her chances. With _them_ it was easy, they were too stupid, too slow. But here, she was surrounded by mutants, and they were harder to get passed, so she didn’t find out the secret. That was something that would have to wait as well.

* * *

 

Magneto took her training very seriously. He pushed Sarah harder than she ever remembered pushing herself. Then again, she supposed that before she was always being told to stop, to slow down, and was mostly just doing using her powers because she wanted to, because they must have been given to her for a reason, to be _used_. But he wanted so much _more_ out of her, he needed her to be ready to fight people, humans. But not just humans, _mutants_ , a much more frightening prospect. But she couldn’t back out, she owed him her life, after all.

So, she trained. She ran until she couldn’t run anymore, and got faster and faster and faster until she wasn’t sure if she even had a maximum speed. But she had more powers than just that, ones she hadn’t even known. But Magneto seemed to know them all. Sarah had no idea how, but he refused to answer when she asked, so she soon stopped. There was no point trying to get anything out of him if he didn’t want to answer, he would just get angry. So very angry…

Molecular combustion was one thing she could do, by vibrating her muscles. The biggest thing she had managed to blow up was a wall, although it took a long time. She liked doing it with glass, though, it was much easier.

But she trained more than just her powers. It wasn’t something that she had been asked to do, seeing as Magneto seemed to only care about her learning to fully control her mutation so she could use it to its full capability. But Sarah wanted to get stronger physically as well, because of the numbers. They would be on her arm forever, a constant reminder of how she was too weak, how she had let herself be captured and tortured by _them_ , and by those numbers Sarah swore to herself that she would never be that weak again.

So she became stronger. At first it wasn’t that noticeable, but she soon began to grow more muscular, more physically fit. It seemed to improve her running as well, so Magneto never complained. Although soon she didn’t have as much time to train, in anything, because soon he said that she was ready, and she finally began earning her keep.

* * *

 

 _They_ were their main targets, much to Sarah’s delight. Or Mercury, she supposed, as she was mostly known by now. But sometimes, they fought against other mutants too. They called themselves the X Men, and seemed to be convinced that mutants could live with _them_ in peace.

But Sarah had first-hand experience to prove that wasn’t true. _They_ would never truly accept them. To _them_ they were just freaks. If they had approached her with this notion a few years ago then she might have eventually believed it, as foolish and naïve as she had been. But Erik had shown her the truth. Mutants were the next step in evolution, _they_ were now the weaker race, the weak link. The world would be so much better off without _them._ Soon, the X Men would see this as well.

They never did.

* * *

 

There was only one time that Sarah ever stood up to Magneto, or, at least only one that stood out, that she remembered clearly.

They had captured some of _them_ , humans. Usually she would have no qualm with this, using _them_ to make a point. It was what they deserved, usually.

But _these_? _They_ were just kids! Sarah doubted any of them had even hit ten yet! They may be naïve but, could they really be blamed? Surely they didn’t know any better? Even if they didn’t, how much harm could they really cause? She raised these concerns with Magneto. It didn’t end well.

“Magneto.”

“Yes, Mercury?”

“The children-“

“What about them?”

“I, I don’t think we should hurt them.” A pregnant pause.

“And why not?” Ominous, slow, he was thinking. It wasn’t a good sign.

“T-they’re just kids, they haven’t done anything-“

“But they will!” Metal began floating at the yell. Definitely not a good sign.

“W-what do you mean?” Magneto seemed to calm down at that, taking a deep breath and lowering the metal objects back to their original places.

“Children are raised by adults, and while they grow up, what do you think they’re taught?” Sarah wondered if she should answer or not. Not was the answer. “They’re taught their parent’s values, their opinions, their _prejudice_. In the end, they are no better than the swine that raise them. Do you understand?” She didn’t, but she nodded anyway. “Good.”

Sarah didn’t question him again after that, but those children would forever haunt her memories. That day, she swore she would never hurt a child, one of _them_ or not. Magneto had a point, but for once, Sarah was sure she knew better. Because not all children looked up to their parents, not all children grew up to be like them.

Not all children had them.

* * *

 

 _They_ had always been a strange term in Sarah’s mind. She used it for a lot of people, people that weren’t like her, that didn’t understand, that ridiculed people like her for something so completely out of their own control. Perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps out of spite. Sarah never quite understood, but it was probably different with each of _them_.

However, it wasn’t something she had ever thought about enough to be able to give _them_ a better name. She knew the difference between species, between humans and animals, and humans and mutants. _They_ was a term she usually bestowed onto humans, since she hadn’t really known any mutants until the Brotherhood, and her mutation didn’t allow her to communicate with animals, so she didn’t know what they thought or said. But she had never truly believed that all humans could be a part of _them._ Surely some could see the light?

Magneto had shown her how wrong she had been, how naïve. All of humans were _them_ , _they_ were the human race. A people tainted by their hate of change, their fear of being lower on the food chain than the top.

Some mutants were a part of _them_ too, the mutants that couldn’t accept their own abilities, that couldn’t be _mutant and proud_ , the ones that hid themselves from the world because they were ashamed of who they were, _what_ they were. But the worst of all? Mutants who believed humans their equals, who believed they could all live together peacefully, like the X Men.

Magneto had been trying to show them the light since they first formed, but they never listened. They were so persistent, it was like the humans had tainted their minds too. It was such a waste, but it had to be done.

For the world to more forward, to evolve, all of _them_ had to perish. The Brotherhood would cleanse the world, and Mercury would gladly help, debt or no.

Magneto had shown her the light, and she would not return to the darkness. Not again. _Never_ again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so again, any constructive criticism would be appreciated and thanks for reading!
> 
> Although, side note, this is technically the end of this arc of Mercury, if you will. This is because what you've currently read is what happens to Sarah in the post-DOFP timeline, the next is going to show what happened differently in the original timeline.
> 
> So look out for it, and I hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. 1998 - Original Timeline

Her animosity towards _them_ only grew with time. _They_ did this to her, were doing this to her. She wasn’t quite sure what to call _them_ yet, couldn’t think of a word to fully match their evilness, so neutral pronouns would have to do for now.

But one day, she awoke to a different scene. She was still chained in her cell, too weak to move, to open her eyes, to do anything. At first, Sarah had thought she was dying, maybe she was already dead? Her hopes were soon dashed by the sounds of screams, of _death_. The sounds weren’t from the same voices she had grown accustomed to, so it must have been coming from _them_. But how? Who could possibly overpower _them?_

Sarah’s questions were soon answered, as her cell door was opened. She tried her very best to move, get away, do something, _anything_! She was so sure that it was _them_ , finally come to finish her off, finish what _they_ had started, before whatever had overpowered _them_ could get to her too.

Much to her surprise, she was wrong, as the chains around her arms came off fairly easily. Whoever found her had a key, which didn’t bode well for her. However, Sarah found herself being lifted by gentle arms and held in a warm embrace. She was able to open her eyes for a moment, and catch a glimpse of a man’s face, surrounded by silver hair, a shade similar to her own. The energy the simply action took caused her to fall into unconsciousness once more, but this time, she would awaken somewhere safer.

“ _No, no, no! Shit! Stay awake, please!”_

* * *

 

When Sarah finally awoke, she was far more, comfortable, than she had expected to be. Quickly regaining her senses, she realized she was in a bed in a strange house. Confused and afraid, she quickly tried to run as fast as she could to get away from the unfamiliar and possibly dangerous place, only to fall and let out a scream of pain. Oh yeah, she’d forgotten about the whole experimentation and dissection thing. How the hell had she forgotten that?

She didn’t have much time to think about it, because almost as soon as she had screamed she had been lifted up and tucked back into bed by someone who was apparently just as fast as her, if not faster. Thinking about it, they were probably faster. When she got a good look at him, she noted the long silver hair and realized that this must be the man that had saved her from the lab.

“You shouldn’t push yourself, you’re hurt.” The man told her, giving her a quick once-over for any injuries.

“I’ll be fine.” Sarah stubbornly crossed her arms. Sure, this man had saved her, but she didn’t know if she could trust him yet. She didn’t want to look weak, although she was sure that she did anyway.

“Hopefully.” The man muttered under his breath, as if he hadn’t wanted her to hear it, before going to leave.

“Wait!” Sarah called after him, causing him to stop and turn to face her with a quirked eyebrow.

“What?” He asked.

“What’s your name?” Sarah inquired, causing a smirk to rise on the man’s face, as if he was famous or something.

“Peter Maximoff.”

“Sarah Orville.” She replied, knowing that it would be polite to introduce herself back. For some reason, the reply caused him to falter, but his cocky expression soon made its way back onto his face. Sarah doubted that anyone else could have caught it, it was so fast.

“Nice to meet you, Sarah.”

Peter ran off. Sarah still had no idea who he was, or even if she was meant to know.

* * *

 

Peter took good care of her, although Sarah wasn’t sure why he bothered. He kept her alive, fed her, tended to her wounds, gave her medicine if he felt that she needed it, he even let her have a bath. Not a shower though, he was worried she might get hurt. At least he felt like it would be too creepy if he helped her, so he let her get clean on her own. Sarah appreciated that. He was still more or less a stranger, anyway, and was old enough to be her dad.

He had some spare clothes for her, said he’d borrowed some of his sisters. They had both outgrown them now, so he was sure they wouldn’t mind. Neither really wore anything that particularly appealed to Sarah, but she was just glad to have some clean clothes. She hadn’t changed her own in years, literally.

Eventually she felt well enough to wander around the house, which Peter luckily allowed her to do, which was good because Sarah hated being cooped up in one place for too long. It just got so boring after a while! Sadly, she still wasn’t allowed to run, Peter was afraid that she might re-open her wounds, which still hadn’t completely healed. Sarah understood why, but that didn’t mean that she had to be happy about it.

It was while she was exploring while Peter was out that she found a file. It had her name on it, but it definitely wasn’t the one she had taken from the orphanage. No, this one was from somewhere else, but where? Checking to make sure that Peter was still out as quickly as she could, and cursing the fact that she couldn’t use her powers as she did so, she felt confident enough that she was alone to open it.

The lab. That was where the file was from. The pictures that poured out of it the moment she opened it proved that, although the stamp on the front should have been enough. It did match the one of her wrist, after all.

Sarah couldn’t bring herself to look at the pictures, so she shoved them to the side and read through the file. She had to skip some of the descriptions of experimentation as they brought back, bad memories. But one thing in particular caught her eye. A blood test. _They_ had apparently noticed many similarities between herself and another mutant, Quicksilver, otherwise known as Peter Maximoff, the man who had saved her.

 _They_ had somehow managed to get a blood sample off of him, although if Sarah understood what she was reading, _they_ had never managed to actually capture him, so she did wonder how _they_ had managed it. But _they_ compared the DNA samples they gathered from it to samples _they_ had from her own blood, which _of course_ _they_ had taken.

They matched, 100%. Quicksilver was her father. _Peter Maximoff_ was her father.

“Oh shit.” Was his exact reaction when he walked in to see Sarah frozen, holding the file. When she finally turned to look at him, she had an ice cold look in her eyes.

“Was I not good enough?” She asked, causing him to give her a confused look. He had read the file, of course he had, who wouldn’t? It was the entire reason he had taken it – to find out who she was, why she was like him! _Exactly_ like him. But that didn’t mean he understood her question.

“What?”

“Was I not good enough?” She repeated, slowly, as if she was mocking him. Peter had a feeling that she wasn’t, considering the tears which were now rolling down her cheeks in waves.

“I don’t-“ He began, before being cut off.

“Is that why you didn’t want me? Why you _left_ me?” The sentence was choked by her oncoming sobs, the inevitability of which she tried her best to avoid. But Peter understood what she was saying. He had felt the exact same way when he had met his own birth father. Honestly, he never thought he’d be on the other end of that argument. It sucked.

“Sarah, you have to listen-“

“No, I don’t!” She yelled, standing up so quickly that her chair went flying back, which caused Peter to fuss over her injured as he was struck with worry, only for her to push him away. “ _Why didn’t you want me?!_ ” She finally asked, breaking down into the hysteria of sobs.

“…I didn’t know you existed.” It was a lame excuse, Peter knew that, but it was the truth.

* * *

 

The next few years didn’t go by like they would in a movie montage. There was no fun looking and adorable father-daughter bonding. At least, not right away.

Sarah stopped trusting him for a while after that, but Peter understood. He had to, he had been in a similar spot to herself, so he could empathise. But he wouldn’t be like his dad, he wouldn’t turn her into a weapon, he would try and give her the loving, caring family that he deserved. She just needed to accept him first.

So, Peter began his quest to try and gain her trust. Not necessarily her love, he knew that he couldn’t force that, it was something that would have to happen naturally. But he needed her to know that he wasn’t a threat; to believe that he hadn’t known about her until he had found her that day in the laboratory.

What he did was fairly simple. He made sure that she was getting better, made her food to the best of his abilities, which usually meant calling for take-out, he let her play video games, and even taught her how to improve her running once she was better.

Once they had bonded some more, he took her outside, let her play in the park like a real kid should, ran around with her a little. Sure, she wasn’t a kid anymore, but from what she’d told him she hadn’t had much of a childhood, so he was going to give her as much as he could of one now.

They opened up to each other too. They told each other how they’d discovered their powers, what it was like growing up, their family, or lack thereof. Peter told her about Erik, and how he had been in a similar situation to her, along with his twin sister, Wanda. That seemed to shock Sarah, and from her change of approach afterwards, he thought that it may have made her trust him more. He would be right in thinking that, too.

Eventually, they even began to try and figure out who her mother could possibly be. Peter had an idea, but quickly dismissed it. After all, surely _she_ , of all people, would have told him if she was pregnant, or even had a child that she thought may have been his. Hell, Sarah had said that she’d had silver hair for as long as she can remember, so it was likely that _she’d_ known since Sarah was born! That was, assuming that it was her.

The idea of being a parent never appealed much to Peter, and he couldn’t say that he felt the instant connection and love to Sarah that so many people said they felt when they first saw their child. But then again, he hadn’t been at her birth, and he’d missed so much of her life that it didn’t even surprise him. But the love, the connection, it _developed_. A bond was slowly weaved between them, and Peter was sure that it was so much more magical then any instant love for a baby could have ever been.

The moment he knew that he had been caught in the web? It was simple, really. He never knew that one word, one simple, innocent, slip of the tongue, could have such an effect on him.

“ _Hurry up, dad!_ ”

* * *

 

 _They_ had always been a strange term in Sarah’s mind. She used it for a lot of people, people that weren’t like her, that didn’t understand, that ridiculed people like her for something so completely out of their own control. Perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps out of spite. Sarah never quite understood, but it was probably different with each of _them_.

However, it wasn’t something she had ever thought about enough to be able to give _them_ a better name. She knew the difference between species, between humans and animals, and humans and mutants. _They_ was a term she usually bestowed onto humans, since she hadn’t really known any mutants until she met her dad, and her mutation didn’t allow her to communicate with animals, so she didn’t know what they thought or said. But she had never truly believed that all humans could be a part of _them._ Surely some could see the light?

Ironically, it hadn’t been Peter that had showed her the truth, although technically he did, indirectly. How? Through introducing her to his mother, her grandmother, Magda. She was human, and had 4 mutant children (counting Anya, her first child who had died in a house fire caused by _them_ ). She had even married a mutant man, Erik Lehnsherr, or Magneto, who apparently hated humans, which was also odd, considering that he married one. She proved to her that all humans weren’t _them_ , that some were better than that.

Some mutants were a part of _them_ too. Sarah had heard of them, mutants that used their abilities to murder their own kind just because they thought that their existence was _wrong_. Luckily, they were far and few between, so they weren’t much of a threat anyway. Not that they would be able to catch her.

Sarah was glad that Peter had found her, had _saved_ her, in more ways than one. She finally had a family, a _home_ , what she had been dreaming of her entire life, even if she had been too hard-headed to admit it, even to herself.

Her family – Peter, Magda, Wanda, Lorna - they had shown her the light, and she would not return to the darkness. Not again. _Never_ again.

* * *

 

"...Hey, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Mercury use to be called Quicksilver, right?"

"...Yeah, why?"

"That's what I want my name to be."

"What?"

"Mercury. The _new_ name for Quicksilver."

"Oh, come here you _little shit_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of Mercury! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any tips that may help me improve my writing, please leave them as constructive criticism in the comments!
> 
> Also, in case anybody's wondering, you can imagine whichever version of the characters you want while reading this. The years are mainly a guideline to show the passing of time and how the main character of these stories changes over the years, but in this case they do show which version of these characters I was thinking of while writing, which is the X Men movie-verse. Although feel free to imagine whichever versions you want! Just remember to adjust the years accordingly ;)
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading, and remember to check out Redonkgirl who was a huge help in creating this story! I hope you have a great day (or night, whatever xD)


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